Mapping Children’s Life-Worlds: A Content-Analytical Study of Drawings of Favourite Gifts
Mapping Children’s Life-Worlds: A Content-Analytical Study of Drawings of Favourite Gifts
Author(s): Kristiina Kruuse, Veronika Kalmus, Pille Runnel, Andra SiibakSubject(s): Developmental Psychology, Psychology of Self, Behaviorism, Evaluation research, Sociology of Culture
Published by: Tartu Ülikool, Eesti Rahva Muuseum, Eesti Kirjandusmuuseum
Keywords: life-world; gifts; child-centric research; draw-and-write method; societal changes;
Summary/Abstract: What children count as their favourite things tell us not only about children but also about their social and cultural experiences. This study, based on the outcomes of a children’s drawing competition organised by the Estonian National Museum and applying a combined framework of visual sociology and participatory research, proposes an innovative angle to using the museum’s experimental approach to contemporary collecting of cultural heritage. This large-sample (n=926) content-analytical study of children’s favourite gifts gives a rich ethnographic and sociological perspective on children’s life-worlds. On the one hand, the children’s wishes reflected contemporary global trends in technology and commercialisation. On the other hand, the children’s prevailing dream of having a pet shows loneliness shaped by societal changes, including urbanisation and changing family models and time regimes.
Journal: Journal of Ethnology and Folkloristics
- Issue Year: XIV/2020
- Issue No: 2
- Page Range: 123-141
- Page Count: 19
- Language: English